Unforgettable Football Academy Camp in Switzerland

Course Description: Unforgettable Football Academy Camp in Switzerland

🎓 Course Overview

This one-week residential football camp in the Swiss Alps is for boys and girls aged 8–13. Football training fills the mornings and outdoor adventure takes over in the afternoons and evenings, so campers improve their game while also kayaking, hiking and camping under the stars with children from around the world. The camp runs in English and French.

📚 Academic Content

Morning sessions are led by experienced, qualified coaches, with programmes for both beginners and advanced players. The week builds from technique to match play and finishes with a camp tournament.

Coaching Content

• Technique: passing, ball control and core individual skills.

• Tactics & small-sided games: a tactical workshop followed by small-sided matches to put ideas into practice.

• Shooting & finishing: a dedicated session on striking and scoring.

• Tournament day: a full camp football tournament.

• Final training & match: a last session and match to round off the week.

Coaching groups are small and adapted to each player's level, so newcomers and club players alike are challenged appropriately.

📍 Campus & Location

The camp is based in Les Diablerets, a mountain village in the Vaud Alps beneath the Diablerets massif, about an hour from Lausanne and one and a half to two hours from Geneva Airport. The surrounding area offers alpine trails, crags, lakes and rivers on the doorstep, making it a natural base for biking, hiking, climbing and water sports in summer.

International participants are met in the arrivals hall at Geneva Airport, with the transfer included in the price; Swiss participants meet at Lausanne railway station for the group transfer. Families can also drop campers directly at the chalet on Sunday between 14:00 and 15:00 and collect them on Saturday between 11:00 and 14:00. There are no transfers from Zurich or Bern airports; the train to Lausanne is the suggested route.

🏫 Accommodation & Meals

Junior campers live at Chalet Budokan, a traditional Swiss chalet with modern facilities, rooms of four, six and eight beds with wooden bunk beds, a lounge area with sofas, a common room with a long wooden table, an activity hall with an indoor skate mini-ramp, a skatepark and an indoor cinema. Rooms are separated by gender, arranged by age and mixed by nationality; there are no single or double rooms, and requests to share with a friend or sibling are noted but not guaranteed. At least one night each week is spent camping in tents.

Healthy, homemade meals are cooked daily by the camp chef, mostly Swiss with some international dishes, and fresh fruit is always available. Every meal has a vegetarian and vegan version, halal options are marked on the menu, and allergies and intolerances are recorded on the trip preparation form before camp. Laundry is done during the week; campers staying more than one week should bring a mesh laundry bag.

🚌 Excursions & Activities

Afternoons offer a free choice of activities with campers from the other junior programmes, including lake swimming, kayaking and water games, team sports, archery, nature hikes and the skatepark. Midweek, the group hikes to an alpine lake to set up camp, cook together and sleep under the stars (weather permitting), finishing with a campfire. Evenings bring team challenges and strategy games, workshops on leadership, communication or creativity, themed nights and a farewell evening with photos of the week. Campers are split into three colour teams that earn points across the summer, and the week ends with a team-against-team Mini Olympics.

⏰ A Day in the Life

A sample day (subject to weather and group needs):

• 08:00 — Activity: Breakfast and morning briefing

• 09:00 — Activity: Activity block 1 – football training

• 12:00 — Activity: Lunch and rest

• 14:00 — Activity: Activity block 2 – creative or outdoor activities

• 17:00 — Activity: Free time or workshops

• 19:00 — Activity: Dinner

• 20:00 — Activity: Evening games, campfire or movie night

• 22:00 — Activity: Lights out

2027 Dates & Fees 📅

This is a residential camp. Sessions run for one week, from Sunday to Saturday, and campers can book one, two, three or more consecutive weeks (most stay two weeks); activities change each week so longer stays do not repeat. Arrival is typically between 14:00 and 15:00 on Sunday and departure between 11:00 and 14:00 on Saturday. Fees are quoted in Swiss francs (CHF) per week and depend on where the family lives, not nationality.

• Sunday 4 July – Saturday 10 July — Length: 1 week — Residential: CHF 1,380 (Swiss residents: CHF 1,080)

• Sunday 11 July – Saturday 17 July — Length: 1 week — Residential: CHF 1,380 (Swiss residents: CHF 1,080)

• Sunday 18 July – Saturday 24 July — Length: 1 week — Residential: CHF 1,380 (Swiss residents: CHF 1,080)

• Sunday 25 July – Saturday 31 July — Length: 1 week — Residential: CHF 1,380 (Swiss residents: CHF 1,080)

• Sunday 1 August – Saturday 7 August — Length: 1 week — Residential: CHF 1,380 (Swiss residents: CHF 1,080)

• Sunday 8 August – Saturday 14 August — Length: 1 week — Residential: CHF 1,380 (Swiss residents: CHF 1,080)

• Sunday 15 August – Saturday 21 August — Length: 1 week — Residential: CHF 1,380 (Swiss residents: CHF 1,080)

• Sunday 22 August – Saturday 28 August — Length: 1 week — Residential: CHF 1,380 (Swiss residents: CHF 1,080)

Multi-week stays (international families): two consecutive weeks CHF 2,760; three consecutive weeks CHF 4,140 (Swiss-resident families: CHF 2,160 and CHF 3,240).

Optional extras: afternoon language classes in English, French or German (2 hours a day, Monday to Friday, CHF 260 per week, materials included); special activities such as paragliding or dog sledding (priced separately); accident, rescue and repatriation insurance and cancellation insurance, both bookable at registration; and extra nights for early arrival or late departure (cost confirmed individually). Swiss-resident families can use a drop-off service at Geneva Airport for a small fee.

Payment: places are confirmed only once payment is received, either in full or as the first instalment where a payment plan is offered. Payment is by card or bank transfer, in Swiss francs only. There are no sibling, friend or multi-week discounts, no VAT is added and the weekly price is the same throughout the summer. Booking can be cancelled free of charge before payment; after payment, the cancellation terms in the camp contract apply. If the camp itself cancels, a full refund is given.

✔️ What's Included

Accommodation, all meals, the morning speciality programme and standard afternoon and evening activities, all specialist and group equipment (including bikes, harnesses, climbing gear and tents), all transport during camp, a camp T-shirt and 24/7 first-aid cover. International participants also receive return transfers from Geneva Airport plus a sleeping bag and mat; Swiss-resident participants receive the group transfer from Lausanne station.

Not included: travel to the meeting point, optional extras (language classes, special activities, rentals, insurance and extra nights) and pocket money (optional; about CHF 50 a week is suggested for the village shop).

🛡️ Safety & Welfare

There is one leader for every five children, and campers are supervised during activities, meals, evenings and at night. All staff are over 18 and are recruited through interviews, background and reference checks; each provides a police record extract, and paid leaders hold Swiss Jeunesse+Sport (J+S) qualifications. Certifications across the team include J+S climbing instructor, CAS mountain guide instructor and Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician, at least one in two instructors is fully certified in CPR and first aid, and staff arrive about a week before the first session for training.

A person responsible for first aid and crisis management is always with the group. Medication is handed to staff on arrival with written instructions, campers are checked for ticks daily, and staff see a doctor when needed and call parents at the earliest opportunity. The camp has a no-bullying policy and monitors group behaviour closely. Families must hold travel or accident insurance covering emergency rescue (including mountain and helicopter rescue) and repatriation; the camp's own policy can be added at booking.

The camp is screen-free: phones are kept by staff and handed back at set times for calls home, with a regular weekly call day, and smartwatches, e-readers and games consoles are not allowed. Parents receive news from the team every evening, the team is reachable 24/7 in an emergency and full photo albums are sent to every family after the summer.

💡 Who This Programme Is For

This camp suits 8–13-year-olds who love football, from beginners to keen club players, and who would also enjoy a week of mountain adventure. It is a good fit for families wanting their child to train regularly while making friends in an international, screen-free setting.

Young Explorers Club — Google Maps ↗

Rue de Bourg 27, 1003 Lausanne, Switzerland Google Maps ↗